[unpopularideas]

I can relate. having an anonymous account can be very helpful in discussing topics such as these. In my team the problem is mentors picking favorites and treating them as such. Our new CEO has little leadership qualities, and was picked because she can be controlled by mentors. Everyone on my team knows who the favorites are. Everyone on my team knows that the 3-4 favorites can (and have) kick people off of the team for disagreeing with them. There are too many cliches to count. From a personal stand point, its no longer a team. It's a few members of the elite controlling everyone else on threat of termination from the team. Unfortunately, if I want to participate in FIRST, this team is my only one in my area.

Another thing I've noticed on my own team, and I wanted to see if you guys have noticed anything similar on your own teams - girls run the show. They can easily knock anyone on the team off of it. In addition, they are in charge of programming, engineering, scouting, leadership, drive team and safety. So all of the guys on the team are left either cleaning continually or having ideas shot down for the pure fact that the girls consider their ideas better. For example, in 2015, a bunch of guys got together, and modeled in CAD and proto-typed internal stacking with a HP Station robot (Sort of like 148's Batman and Robin) and it was shot down in favor of an external, landfill stacker (Not to say all of those robots were ineffective). If FIRST is really about letting the next generation get a hands on experience in STEM, then why are we sitting here trying so desperately to help, only to be shot down by the favorites.

Just my take on it.